UAE. Dubai lender Emirates NBD will merge the management teams of its two Islamic subsidiaries, which will be led by Jamal bin Ghalaita, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

Dubai's largest bank took over struggling Dubai Bank last year as part of a broader push to support state-linked institutions saddled with bad debts.

Bin Ghalaita will also continue his current role as the chief executive of ENBD's other Islamic unit Emirates Islamic Bank, the bank said.

"The new phase aims at unifying the management teams within our two Islamic arms," Rick Pudner, group CEO of Emirates NBD, said in a statement.

Emirates NBD has been actively reorganising its management and businesses in recent months.

However, the lender has given little indication so far on how the two Islamic institutions - now part of Emirates NBD - will be operated. Analysts are expecting them to eventually be merged.

ENBD, created in a 2007 merger between Emirates International Bank and National Bank of Dubai at the behest of Dubai's ruler, has suffered due to its role as lender of last resort to Dubai state-linked firms.

The lender, 55.6% state-owned through the Investment Corporation of Dubai, was ordered by Dubai's ruler in October to take over loss-making Dubai Bank, which had been rescued by the emirate's government earlier in 2011.

The bank which has been grappling with impairments, plans to lay off up to 15% of its workforce, sources told Reuters earlier this month.

Emirates NBD also announced the appointment of Douwe Oppedijk, formerly the interim CEO of Dubai Bank, as advisor to bin Ghalaita.

MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS COMMENT & ANALYSIS

INTERNATIONAL. Washington is moving away from the strategy it has followed since the early 2000s - of being the prime military force in regional conflicts - and is shifting the primary burden of fighting to regional powers while playing a secondary role.

INTERNATIONAL. Washington is moving away from the strategy it has followed since the early 2000s - of being the prime military force in regional conflicts - and is shifting the primary burden of fighting to regional powers while playing a secondary role.